Le 5 Octobre 2008
Tomorrow is my first day of teaching…aaahhh!!!! Actually, I’m not that nervous. I get the sneaky suspicion that I should be much more nervous, but if I pretend to be nervous, maybe there will be no last minute real nerves. I hope you were able to follow that line of thought. Anyhoo, this weekend was lots of fun, in a relaxing sort of way. The weather was very windy and rainy, so I haven’t been much inclined to outdoor activity. I returned from orientation on Thursday after an hour long train ride followed by an intolerably 2 hour long bus ride where a strange man decided to make friends with me and wouldn’t leave me alone. I humored him for a small while and then spent the rest of the bus ride studiously staring out of the window or forcing myself to read, all the while feeling that his eyes were on me just waiting for an opportunity to once again point out that I could eat once I had arrived in Bourcefranc. I think he got the hint after a while as he turned very sulky. Better sulky than strangely eager to talk to me. When I got back to my apartment, there was still no hot water and there was a puddle of water under the water heater. I called Malika and left a message about the water situation and then went to use the computers in the teacher’s lounge. On my way out, I saw Pierre (Malika’s husband) descending from my apartment with what was apparently the maintenance guy. This was around 9 at night. Well, they couldn’t get the water heater going, so Pierre took me home (Malika’s home feels so much like home to me…its going to be hard to leave…other than the fact that I sometimes have to find excuses to leave the room when Pierre lights up a cigarette), where I have spent the rest of the weekend.
Friday night was interesting as I witnessed the launch and christening of a new boat, the Prana. Friends of Pierre and Malika have apparently been working on this 50 foot sailboat for over 3 years and are planning on sailing across the Atlantic to Brazil. Many friends had gathered and it was actually pretty exciting to watch them maneuver this massive boat into the water. They had rigged up a bottle of champagne to a line that hung from the top of the mast, and were all ready to smash it when the ladies in the audience started protesting that a lady needed to break the bottle. Well, the lady they chose was having some…er…technical difficulties, shall we say? She didn’t manage to break the bottle on the first two tries and the third try…I smile at the recollection. The rope wrapped three times around a free standing metal post and smashed…missing the boat completely. It was sublime.
I’ve been on a bit of a reading kick since returning from Poitiers. I discovered that Malika has a rather large cache of English books, and so I’ve read both Bridget Jones’ Diary and its sequel…in the space of two days. I find that subconsciously, I think much like Bridget and am very tempted to keep journal at all times, but would accomplish nothing. Am in a very pro-British mood at the moment. Or was…until I watched the Patriot in French with Pierre and remembered that we fought them and they have bad teeth. I also finished Gunslinger. It annoyed me in the way that science fiction novels do in that they don’t really have to have an ultimate objective…they can just be lost in space for 27,000 novels and never make it home. Interesting concept, but too many loose ends.
Today was Sunday, which in France means lovely, delicious Sunday lunch with all the family. I have now participated in two of these and they are absolutely fantastic. This time, we went to Malika’s mother’s home. A lot of extended family was there and we all sat down to a table that to me felt something like a French thanksgiving. Mind you, they do this every Sunday. There are always appetizers to start off the meal, bread and pate, cucumber salad, beets (I actually liked them…I despise beets in America…), bread, radishes, Oysters, bread…they made me try wine again and I decidedly do not like it. Then they bring out the main course…today it was duck and potatoes with salad. Malika made me eat salad. I tried to refuse. Oh well…I lived. And then we have dessert, which was plum tart today. All the while, everyone is squabbling in French all trying to talk over one another. I’ve noticed in France, that nobody waits for the other person to finish before speaking; they all jump in and are talking at the same time. How anybody understands anything is beyond me…I certainly understand very little at meal times. I should probably get going and attempt to figure out what I will be doing in class tomorrow. Hopefully I’ll have hot water tomorrow!
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4 comments:
Lauren eating vegetables... what?!?! This is a miracle for sure! It makes me smile!
Have a great first week, my dear!!
Hugs!
Haha, that sailboat launch sounds epic. Not sure I'd wanna sail that across the Atlantic after a christening like that, but I digress...
It also suddenly occurs to me that having your hot water be broken is doubly bad when you're in France in the fall. I mean, here it's just annoying, but there you're liable to start shooting ice sickles from the shower head before it gets too much later in the year.
I can't say I've been feeling the pro-British mood; beyond the bad teeth and the fact that they fought us, reading about Henry Morgan has spoiled the fun of the pirate age for me. He sorta ruins the fraternity of it all and sells out the French part of his fleet to allay suspicion from an accident that was being blamed on him. The whole graphic depictions of torturing peasants and burning down towns doesn't help his image much either. Granted it was a French guy that cut out the hearts of live Spaniards and ate them in front of prisoners as an intimidation tactic, but still... I'm definitely gonna be ready for a loooong break from pirates when this year is over, methinks. If I have to read about one more town pillaging my eyes are going to bleed.
Your journal style is fairly entertaining, heh. I almost feel like I'm reading a sort of Mark Twain account of stuff imbued with the sort of subtle humor Tolkien used when describing hobbits in Lord of the Rings.
I'm sure any French or non-english speaker would be lost at any similar meal in America. Imagine Christmas dinner at Nana's place, the din is deafening!!
I don't think I would have been able to kep a straight face after watching the failed christening of that sailboat.... nor would I opt to ride in it for it's maiden voyage.....
And I am very surprised that you are able to stomach vegetables; you're really going to leave me behind as the only McGrath who won't eat them!! Even Dad can hack a salad.
Bon Chance for your first week!!
Ma belle Lauren,
Your plume still resides on my desk, your 1889 photo is still on the wall, your memory lingers.
Delighted you have safely arrived and it is proving an enjoyable experience. I am new to blogging so forgive any gaffs.
Your photo is marvelously exotic, the background demurely Victorian, but I must express dismay at your use of such unladylike language as "screw it". I though we had raised you better.
You are in France! Be French! Speak the language, eat the langoustine, read the language! Stop reading English, throw yourself into the culture, the lifestyle, immerse yourself in being French. There will be more than enough time to be American later.
Love
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